Title: Thomas Bardon Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1883-1922

Creator:

• Bardon, Thomas, 1848-1923

Call Number: Northland Mss A

Quantity: 1.6 c.f. (4 boxes incl. 5 volumes)

Repository:

Housed at the Area Research Center, History Center and Archives, Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center / Ashland Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Bardon, an Ashland, Wis., financier, including personal correspondence, 1907-1921; business papers concerning mineral and timber landholdings in Michigan, Minnesota, and Northern Wisconsin, Indian lands, and two Arizona ventures, the Shattuck Mine and the Denn-Arizona Copper Company; and business accounts.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-nort000a

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Born in Maysville, Kentucky in 1848, Thomas Bardon moved to Superior, Wisconsin with his family in 1857. He worked as a surveyor for several years, and then went on to found The Superior Times in 1870. In 1872, he left Superior, settling in nearby Ashland, Wisconsin, where his interests turned to land holdings. He invested in mineral and timber lands in Michigan, Minnesota, and Northern Wisconsin. The Bardon lands, as the basis of his fortune, provided Bardon with a means of further investment. In 1904 and 1905, he obtained controlling interest in two Arizona mines, the Shattuck Mine and the Denn Mine, in Bisbee, Arizona.

In the course of building his multi-million dollar fortune, Thomas Bardon opened and later became president of the Ashland National Bank. He was also mayor of Ashland, 1897-1902. He retired in 1922, and died February 1, 1923.

The Thomas Bardon Papers include personal correspondence, 1907-1921, mayoral nomination papers, 1898, and business papers. Among the business papers are correspondence and agreements concerned with Bardon lands, 1883-1922; Indian lands, 1900-1915; loans, 1904-1915; and mineral lands, 1911-1922. With the Bardon land papers are three maps, kept in the collection because they indicate the Thomas Bardon land holdings in Michigan, Minnesota, and Northern Wisconsin.

The collection's two largest groups of business papers are the Denn Mine and Shattuck Mine papers. The Denn Mine papers consist of business correspondence, 1905-1920; agreements, 1905-1920; and stockholders lists, 1916-1919. The Shattuck Mine papers include business correspondence, 1904-1919, and agreements, 1904-1920. There is also one folder of Denn-Shattuck Mining contracts, 1912-1919.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Thomas Bardon, Jr., New York, New York, 1960.

Processing Information

Processed by LRH, November 17, 1965.

Box   1	Correspondence, personal, 1907 Feb.-1921 March
	Business Papers
Box   1	Bardon Lands, 1883 April-1922 June
Box   4 Volume   4	Bardon Lands Account Book
Box   4 Volume   1	Address book of Bardon Land buyers
Box   1	Bardon Lands, Maps
Box   1	Indian Lands, 1900 June-1915 April
Box   1	Loan Correspondence, 1904 August-1915 April
Box   4 Volume   5	Ashland National Bank Passbook, 1910
Box   1	Mineral Lands, 1911 June-1922 Feb.
Box   4 Volume   3	Landholding record book
Box   1	Mayoral nomination papers, 1898
	Mine Records
Box   2	Shattuck Mine Business Papers, 1904 Jan.-1920 July
Box   3	Shattuck Mine Business Agreements, 1904 Jan.- 1920 Jan.
Box   3	Denn Mine Business Papers, 1905 March-1920 April
Box   4	Denn Mine Business Agreements, 1905 March-1920 Jan.
Box   4	Denn Mine Stockholder Lists, 1916 Feb.-1919 April
Box   4 Volume   2	Address book of Denn and Shattuck Mine Stockholders
Box   4	Denn and Shattuck Mines Contracts, 1912 Oct.-1919 April